It’s a soft, rainy spring day. I’m grateful for the rain—we need it—and for the lush green it has brought to the hills and meadows, the vineyards carpeted with bright mustard flowers. These are such challenging times. The circumstances of my personal life are stressful and frightening; the broader culture is caught in the nightmare … Continue reading Sifting for Gold

As I have written before, Atheopaganism is a forward-looking religious path. We envision a time when humanity lives in balance with the natural systems of the biosphere and when all people are treated fairly and equally in human society. Those are tall orders, but that’s what a vision is for, right? Especially in these times, … Continue reading Walking Our Talk: Modeling a Vision for the Future

For me, the growing daylight (reinforced by the start of Daylight Savings Time) is a reminder from our Earth itself, one of those many helpful features of our seasons, to begin thinking about, and planning for, the Spring Equinox/Ostara. Another reminder – one that is rather bizarre – is the appearance of a “warm-blooded” plant that smells like a zombie!

As the vernal equinox (which in my version of the Wheel of the Year I term High Spring) approaches, Pagans everywhere prepare to celebrate this important Sabbath. As the “Spring festival” (whether you consider it the beginning of Spring or, as I do, the height of it), themes of High Spring include new life, youth. … Continue reading High Spring: Themes, Resources and Ideas

A couple of years ago, exhilarated after attending a Unitarian Universalist church service for the first time, I reported to my millennial daughter that I had found a church with services that she might enjoy as well. She responded that…

This is a bit of a bandwagon post. John Beckett and Jason Mankey have just posted about “Five Bad Reasons to be a Pagan” and “Five Good Reasons” to be one, respectively. They’re at Patheos, which I no longer link to, but you can find them easily if you like. Their posts got me thinking … Continue reading Five Great Reasons to Be an Atheopagan

The Milk Industry is making a splash lately with how Millennials have ended up bring back Milk Couriers. Great news for those who love sustainability. Unfortunately many members of the public have taken this news and decided to damn the milk industry all together, citing many things that are indeed harmful practices.

Eleven years ago this spring, I participated in a weekend-long mindfulness meditation retreat. Two continuous days of scheduled sitting and walking meditation, dharma talks, and silent meals left me rested and clear, yet inexplicably discontented. On the third and final day of the retreat a choice of activities was offered, including more sitting meditation, attending… Continue reading Growing beyond atheism→

Here at Atheopaganism, we have discussed ritual skills quite a bit. Developing the skill sets that help people to attain the Ritual State (or “trance”) is key to our ability to be effective ritualists who can transform consciousness in empowering ways. Click here to see previous posts tagged as “Ritual Technologies and Core Skills”. Thus … Continue reading Journeying in the Inner Landscape